ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – With home openers for the Cubs on April 7 and the White Sox on April 12, baseball fans crave to be part of the action after a long winter.
The Better Business Bureau warns buyers to lookout for fake websites, tickets, and merchandise.
Nothing can match the excitement of an opening day other than playoff baseball, and just like fans, scammers come out of hibernation with fake tickets and memorabilia for baseball and concert season. With Lollapalooza and Summerfest among summer concert ticket sales, fans are looking for tickets to games and concerts now for the months to come.
Many online platforms are already flooded with tickets for sale.
“There are countless ways for consumers to find tickets online, with online marketplaces, ticket sellers, resellers, and the like, and unfortunately, some of them are rip-offs,” says Dennis Horton, director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau. “Ticket sellers and scammers use the excitement and emotion of events like an opening day or hot shows and concerts to cash in on unsuspecting fans. Not only do they take money from consumers, but they are also taking money from legitimate businesses.”
Even in the era of electronic exchanges, tickets and QR codes for entry may never be detected as fakes until you’re left standing at the gate.
Last year, the BBB received hundreds of complaints on the BBB Scam Tracker about ticket scams related to sporting events, concerts, theatre, and…
